1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an adjustable holding device for holding an item in a desired location relative to a surface, and is particularly adapted for, but not limited to, marine control applications for locating accessories, control cables, etc. relative to engine, gearbox components, etc.
2. Prior Art
There is a wide variety of engine and gearbox combinations fitted in marine vessels, road vehicles, etc., and there is a correspondingly wide variation of control system linkages and accessories for use with these combinations, most of which require a positive location relative to a fixed surface. Usually a bracket supplied by the manufacturer is required to locate a particular item relative to a particular model of engine or gearbox, and if there is any change in the item, or if there is interference with adjacent structure, the bracket supplied is unsuitable and a custom made bracket is required. If additional accessories are added later, often this custom made bracket itself becomes unsuitable and a second custom made bracket is required. Fabricating brackets on an "ad hoc" basis as above is time consuming and expensive, and results mainly from the fact that most brackets are not easily adjustable to accomodate non-standard combinations.
Manufacturers have attempted to keep pace with the ever increasing variety of accessories and control systems by providing many brackets for specific purposes. Some major manufacturers supply hundreds of different types of brackets for specific applications and the supplying and stocking of such brackets is expensive and time consuming. The Morse Controls Division of North American Rockwell, in its 1971 catalogue, at pages 168-192, lists well in excess of 100 cable-to-engine connection kits. Certainly, many more have been required and developed since that catalogue was published. Furthermore, it is not unusual for a bracket supplied for a specific purpose to be inappropriate due to a non-standard combination of adjacent equipment or accessories. Consequently, it can be appreciated that there has been a long felt but, until now, unfilled need for a single device capable of effectively replacing the prior hundreds of custom holding devices. Only the invention disclosed herein has been able to provide a holding device capable of replacing the prior custom made devices and also capable of being reconfigured after initial installation.